A MAN who was crippled two weeks after his wedding has appealed to others to help make his wish come true.

David Osborne was struck by meningitis two weeks after the happiest day of his life - his marriage to girlfriend Tracy.

But overnight, at the age of 33, his life was destroyed. He is now wheelchair-bound, can never work again and cannot have children. It was a cruel blow for the ex-RAF serviceman who regularly played rugby and cricket.

Mr Osborne, of Redland Shaw, Rochester, can do little more than enjoy the simple pleasure of sitting in his small back garden.

His one wish now is for his 20ft by 20ft garden to be cleared, paved and planted with a few fuchsias and conifers.

Mr Osborne said: “My wife is now my full-time carer and I can’t ask her to do it. I depend totally on her and if she should injure herself, I would really be in trouble.’’

David’s mother, Margaret Osborne, was so moved by David’s simple wish that she nominated him for the Medway Messenger’s Make a Wish Month campaign.

Mrs Osborne, 72, of Miskin Road, Hoo, said: “I felt that it was terrible for such a thing to happen to such a young couple. They didn’t even get the chance of a honeymoon. David at least needs to be able to enjoy his garden.”

Mr Osborne, now 40, slipped a disc in September 1995 and underwent surgery. He was well enough to get married at Chatham Register Office in October 7, 1995, but the honeymoon was postponed until he fully recovered.

But a fortnight after the wedding, he was struck down by a rare strain of bacterial meningitis. Mr Osborne was confined to hospital, needing extensive surgery for a year. Furthermore, in March 2000, he suffered a heart attack.

Now all that David’s mother is asking, is for a caring couple’s wish to be granted.